Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reauthorization legislation, which cleared the House homeland security subcommittee Sept. 14, calls on the agency to develop procedures that would permit business aircraft operators to fly in restricted airspace. The measure comes as business aviation advocates have appealed to TSA to work with the community on improving access in areas where temporary flight restrictions are in place.
BAE SYSTEMS Model 4101 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0911; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-248-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to conduct repetitive ultrasonic inspections of the passenger/crew door upper and lower guide plates for a split caused by exfoliation corrosion. If a substantial split were found, operators would need to replace any affected guide plate with a serviceable one before further flight, per the instructions of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Service Bulletin J41-52-064 (dated Sept. 15, 2009).
General aviation airports remain vulnerable to security threats, but they could be better equipped to guard against them with improved information technology (IT) and early decision aids, says a new report commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has found Lufthansa’s mandatory retirement age of 60 for pilots to be illegal. The court says that sending pilots into retirement at 60 constitutes discrimination on grounds of age.
Piaggio Aero has received both type and production certifications from the Russian aviation authority, the Interstate Aviation Committee, for its P.180 Avanti II. The approvals will enable the Italian plane-maker to expand into the Russian market. The P.180 Avanti II, the follow-on to the original Avanti, achieved both European Aviation Safety Agency and FAA certification in 2005. The Russian approval, which culminates a process that began in 2010, enables the aircraft to be registered and operated throughout the Russian Federation.
Gulfstream recently secured National Aeronautic Association confirmation of a speed record established by a Gulfstream G550 Aug. 8 on a flight between Savannah, Ga., and Capinas, Brazil. The aircraft departed Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport at 7:56 a.m. local time with 11 passengers and one flight attendant on board, landing 8 hr. and 28 min. later at the Viracopos-Campinas International Airport. The aircraft averaged a cruise speed of 519 mph (451 kt.) during the 3,894-nm trip.
Congress cleared the 22nd extension of FAA’s authorization last week, averting a possible shutdown that loomed while the Senate battled over whether it should adopt a clean extension.
TAC Air is filing a Part 16 complaint against the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority (CMAA), marking another turn in the ongoing dispute between CMAA and the fixed-base operation chain over CMAA’s decision to build a competitive FBO at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA). CMAA in December selected Wilson Air Center to manage the new FBO, saying the facility will spur economic growth.
Pressure continues to grow on Capitol Hill for the Department of Transportation to reverse its policy on the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program with another bill introduced that prohibits the recent changes made to the program. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) introduced The BARR Preservation Act of 2011 (H.R. 2897) to continue the full program, which enables aircraft owners to request that their tail numbers be removed from displays of near-real-time flight tracking programs.
BOMBARDIER DHC-8-400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0381; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-203-AD; Amendment 39-16799; AD 2011-18-17] – Revise the maintenance program by incorporating a new task for the main landing gear (MLG) stabilizer extension springs. This AD, which resulted from an MCAI originated by Transport Canada, was prompted by several failures of MLG stabilizer extension springs. The MLG may not lock in the down-lock position if both MLG stabilizer extension springs are missing, which could result in the collapse of the gear.
Gama Aviation, an international business aviation services company, has made a number of management changes. Steve Wright has been promoted to COO and accountable manager. Wright co-founded Gama with Marwan Khalek in 1983 and was chief pilot until 1991. Steve Woodfine has been promoted to chief pilot. He was previously a fleet manager. Ian Cheese joined Gama as director of flight operations. He came from U.K. low-fare regional airline Flybe, where he was general manager for turboprops. Brian Cozens is Gama Aviation’s new head of training.
NEIL BURGESS was appointed director, financial institutions group for CIT Aerospace. Burgess rejoins CIT Aerospace from Amentum Capital, where he was responsible for aircraft leasing, new deal origination and asset sales. Before that, he served with CIT Aerospace for six years, holding various positions, including aircraft trading, third-party financing and airline marketing.
Baldwin Aviation Safety & Compliance, a Hilton Head, S.C.-based consultancy, has launched a program to support safety efforts of the owner/operator of fixed and rotary wing aircraft. SMSace was developed to provide business aircraft owners/operators “with a unique set of tools for a structured safety program,” says President and CEO Don Baldwin. “We created a standardized business operations manual that is the foundation for a typical one-aircraft/one-pilot operation safety management system.
Milestone Aviation, a global finance company, has leased four new Eurocopter EC-145 helicopters to Transportes Aereos Pegaso, a Mexican air transport company. The transaction represents Milestone’s first with Pegaso and its first acquisition of new Eurocopter helicopters in a deal valued at more than $28 million. “We are delighted to celebrate our partnership with a first-class operator in Pegaso, as well as our first transaction with Eurocopter, the world’s largest civil helicopter manufacturer,” says Richard Santulli, Milestone’s chairman.
ADAM COOPERSTOCK has rejoined CIT Aerospace as assistant vice president, financial institutions group. Cooperstock is responsible for transactions analysis, new business asset sales and financing alternatives. He most recently served with Seabury Group, where he managed operating lease and loan financings. Cooperstock previously spent two years with CIT Aerospace, evaluating purchasing and financing transactions.
MARK PHILLIPS has joined satcom communications specialist SkyTrac as CFO. He previously spent 25 years managing finance for Northern Airborne Technology, helping steer the company from startup to a leader in airborne communications equipment with facilities in Canada and the U.S., and later as a fully owned subsidiary of Cobham.
JULIE ANDERSON was named regional sales manager for West Star Aviation. Anderson is responsible for sales in the Western states, including Arizona, California and Nevada. Anderson recently served with Med Air, where she held sales positions, working with directors of maintenance, chief pilots and directors of aviation.
FAA this summer published new operational procedures at Henderson Executive Airport (HND) in Nevada. The procedures were expected to facilitate travel to the airport in time for next month’s National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Annual Meeting and Convention in Las Vegas. But NBAA officials have become concerned that those procedures have yet to take root with most operators, since there have been a number of instances in which aircraft operators have yet to use them when flying into HND.
Eurocontrol is taking the final regulatory steps toward becoming the network manager for the European air traffic management system, a role that will be crucial to the success of the Single European Sky (SES) effort. The agency says it is seeking the formal approval of its member states to accept the nomination as network manager. It has recently received the formal nominating letter from the European Commission.
The new and used fixed-wing and rotorcraft markets continue to provide mixed signals as the second half of 2011 begins, says aviation consultancy Jetnet.
Former Cessna executive Robert Stangarone has been named vice president of corporate communications, North America for Embraer. Stangarone will be based at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Last month, he resigned from Cessna, where he had worked in a similar position for six years. He has a long history in aviation communications, having worked as managing editor of Business & Commercial Aviation magazine, and has held senior communications positions with Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, Rolls-Royce North America and Fairchild Dornier.
PIAGGIO P-180 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0954; Directorate Identifier 2011-CE-028-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to replace defective main landing gear (MLG) actuators with serviceable ones, per the instructions of Piaggio Aero Industries Mandatory Service Bulletin No. 80-0304 (dated July 9, 2010). This proposal, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the European Aviation Safety Agency, was prompted by the discovery that some actuator lock sleeves had been incorrectly manufactured.
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) called the government effort to remove privacy protections from business jet movements disturbing, saying the Department of Transportation is “bizarrely using” government transparency as reasoning for its changes to the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program.
